Why Concealed Carry Permits Trump Constitutional Carry (For Now)

Posted by James England on 06/30/2015

The Second Amendment ought not be abridged or hacked up into bureaucratic little pieces. Like it or not, the Constitution specifically states that this right ought not be impeded. And either we revise the Bill of Rights to amend that to “shall be issued a concealed permit to bear arms only when it’s convenient for the State to do so” or we’ve got some serious work to do.

Here are the top three reasons being issued a concealed carry permit is the way to go… For now.

Reason #1: Permitless Concealed Carry Hasn’t Caught On – Yet

That said, the concealed carry permitting process is more advantageous than constitutional carry – right now. At present, there are six states that have mostly unconditional permitless concealed carry:

Alaska

Arizona

Arkansas

Kansas

Maine (pending Governor’s signature*)

Vermont

Wyoming (resident only)

*While Maine has legally pushed through its version of permitless concealed carry, it cannot go into effect until the governor of Maine signs it. So until then, sorry.

NOTE: There are a lot of states where permitless concealed carry has advanced in the legislature but has not been completely successful and there are other states which have forms of permitless concealed carry but have very specific restrictions. At the time of this article, there are only six states which allow their citizens to carry a concealed, loaded firearm without a permit.

Six out of fifty states have permitless concealed carry. In order to leave the state with a concealed carry firearm, you have to apply for an equivalent of such a permit from the issuing authority. If your daily commute involves crossing state lines or you frequently travel out-of-state, this can quickly become a royal pain.

Reason #2: National Reciprocity Hasn’t Caught On – Yet

Think of all the restrictions you’re faced with taking a simple road trip from one side of the country to the other with a concealed firearm on your person. There is no state-issued concealed carry permit (that we know of) that covers all fifty states and the District of Columbia.

That means in order to travel, you have to know which state acknowledges your resident state’s concealed carry permit. It’s much more convoluted than you think! And for those states that absolutely refuse to acknowledge any other state’s concealed carry permitting process – New York, California, and New Jersey being chief amongst that pool – there’s no good way of getting through.

So, for those being issued a concealed carry permit, at least they have verified proof at least one state found them fit to carry a concealed firearm. And it also familiarizes the person with his own state’s process – which can sometimes be helpful when applying for non-resident concealed carry permits from other states.

Reason #3: No Permit? No Luck!

In the grand majority of states, carrying a concealed firearm without a permit is a crime. More importantly, it can potentially incriminate an otherwise honorable and law-abiding citizen. The worst part of this is that for those traveling between states and unfamiliar with their specific statutes, the definition of a concealed firearm can be very devious. In states like New Jersey, simply transporting the firearm in a glove box can be construed as concealing it. And for states like California which don’t issue non-resident concealed carry permits (and rarely issue resident), law abiding citizens can get caught up into a whole bunch of legal mess and even see their firearms entered into the civil forfeiture process.

Thus, for those traveling around, it’s always a good idea to maintain a concealed carry permit – even if your state doesn’t require it. Until we have national reciprocity (which may unfortunately come with national standards), we can’t expect any reasonable degree of leniency from non-resident states.

Get Coverage – Carry Concealed In 28 States

In the meantime, many have taken the route of obtaining a Virginia Non-Resident permit that allows them to carry concealed in 28 states. Also, because we’re awesome, you can follow the link below and use coupon code CN15 to get 15% off.

James England is a Marine Corps veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom and has served as a defense contractor in Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. He is currently an advocate for veterans and constitutional carry in the State of New Hampshire. His daily carry is a CZ-75D in a Specter IWB Holster made by Lenwood Holsters out of Missouri.